How to Use a Planner Effectively

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So you got a new planner and you’re excited to get productive and finally organize your life!

But as you look over the blank pages of your planner, you wonder what you’re supposed to write in all those blanks.

After using a daily planner for over 9 years now, I’m ready to share all of my best planner tips.

Using a planner has helped me stay organized and on top of all my responsibilities. It keeps my sanity and has helped me grow my online business.

There are a lot of over the top planners out there, but I like to stick to basic planners and make them work for me.

Here’s my affiliate link to some of my favorite planners.

Let’s start by breaking down your planner into sections. In order to use your planner effectively, you need to use it on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis.

Monthly Plan

Most planners come with a monthly calendar spread. This is where you’ll keep a general overview of the month.

Appointments and Special Days

I always suggest starting with your monthly overview by writing down appointments, events, birthdays, anniversaries, or other special dates.

As the month continues, you’ll probably add to your calendar. You’ll be able to quickly scan the month for available days when making appointments.

Goals

The beginning of a new month is a great time to reflect on your life. Is there anything you’d like to do differently in the coming month?

Use a section of your monthly spread to make a list of realistic goals. Depending on the planner that you are using, you may have a goals section created specifically for this.

However, if you don’t have a designated section, you can also use a list and label it “Goals”. If there is no extra space besides the calendar, you can also write your goals on a sticky note and place it on the monthly calendar.

To-Do List

Many planners include a list section to the monthly spread. Use this to write down random to-do’s. Maybe you have been wanting to paint the hallway or schedule a coffee date with a friend.

Write those things down so that they are out of your head and easier to keep track of.

Weekly Plan

Set aside time each week to make a plan for your week using your weekly spread in your planner. I like to do this on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

Appointments and Events

First, write down any appointments or events for the week. These will already have been written in your monthly calendar.

For me, these include homeschool hours, homeschool community, work hours, doctor appointments, church, volunteering, and kid’s lessons and activities.

Then from there, it’s really up to you what you want to keep track of. Here are a list of things I like to fill in for each week.

Meal plan

I like to make my meal plan on a weekly basis and go grocery shopping weekly as well. I tried doing it every two weeks, but I like once a week better.

Use the daily events to help you plan your meals. For example, Wednesday nights are busy for our family. So I like to make easy meals on Wednesday.

Household chores

The best way to stay on top of your household chores is to keep a written list and cross them off once they are completed.

Here’s what I plan for:

• dust

• change sheets

• clean bathrooms

• scrub kitchen sink

• mop

• vacuum

Work tasks

Since I work from home, I keep my work tasks in my home planner as well. I don’t always know how much time each task will take, so I don’t assign my tasks to specific days.

However, I do make a weekly list of things I want to get done. As I’m able to get them done, I cross them off and move to the next task.

Random to to list

There are going to be random things that you need to do each week. Instead of trying to remember all of the things running around in your head, do a brain dump and write out all the things you want to get done in the week.

Also, a great way to organize your to-do list is to prioritize them into 3 categories: A,B, and C.

“A” is the list of things that must be completed each week.

“B” is the list of things that should be completed this week, but aren’t necessary.

“C” is the list of things that could be done this week, but could also wait until a different week if you don’t get to it.

Other things to add to your weekly planner:

• self care habits
• water goals
• exercise or walking goals
• daily devotions
• weather
• gratefulness list
• Bible verse memorization
• funny things your kids say
• people to reach out to

Daily Plan

Most likely your daily plan has already been filled in when you planned for your week.

However, as the week continues, things will come up and you’ll need to add reminders to your daily plans.

Be sure to look over your daily plan each morning and throughout the day when needed.

How to Effectively Use a Planner

Now that you know what to put inside a planner, here are a few tips to make sure you use it well.

Keep your planner in plain sight. Don’t put it in a drawer or cabinet. Have it open to to the current day so that you can refer to it when needed.

Schedule a time every month, week, and day to write in your planner.

Use highlighters and/or stickers to decorate your planner and set things apart. For instance, I like to highlight my household chores in yellow and all the events and appointments in blue.

Cross things off once they are completed. Once of the most satisfying aspects of using a planner is being able to cross things off your list once you’ve accomplished them.

Many planners also have extra notes pages in the back. I like to use these for ongoing lists of things.

These lists are usually things like house projects, books to read, gift list ideas, and work related tasks.

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